Visually impaired kids hit the mat in martial arts lesson

A group of children paid a visit to the America Top Team Gym in Coconut Creek for a special lesson in martial arts.

But it wasn't just an ordinary lesson: the children are all visually impaired, as well as two of the student instructors who have made it to competitions.

"Martial arts is fun, and we can do flips on the mats," said Christian Leath, 10, as he felt the texture of the floor with his fingers.

The kids come every week for camp, but today, two men who are visually impaired showed them how far they can take the training. The children each have varying levels of visual impairments – while some are completely blind, others can only see a few feet in front of them even with glasses.

Lining up before two mats, student instructors grabbed the children's feet and hands to position them properly, and guided them into rolls, proper falls and then more complicated moves. Some were a little apprehensive at first, but eventually were laughing with their new skills.

"I'm strong!" one little boy yelled, flexing his arms.

American Top Team has multiple locations across the country and overseas, but its main headquarters are in Coconut Creek. At the gym, fighters practice a variety of martial arts styles.

Owner Ricardo LiBorio, seventh-degree black belt and jiu-jitsu world champion, added the dimension of teaching the visually impaired after his 4-year-old daughter Bella went blind at 1-and-a-half years old. The soft spot on her head closed too early, putting pressure on her optic nerve and leading to her vision loss. By the time doctors detected the condition, craniosynostosis, it was too late.

"As shocking as it is, I think my background in martial arts put me in a very different spot," LiBorio said. "I'm used to accepting a loss but not being defeated…you need to keep going."

And that's exactly what the LiBorio family did – the gym is now certified to teach judo to the visually impaired and the master hopes to become a certified training facility for Paralympic fighters. Also, this is the second year that the gym opened its doors to the children attending Lighthouse of Broward's summer camp. Every Monday, Bella and her camp mates come for a martial arts lesson from the master and student instructors.

Lighthouse of Broward is based in Fort Lauderdale and aids families with children who have different visual impairments. Paul Nichols, a camp counselor, said that the martial arts, especially judo, is a good fit for the children because unlike other sports, there is a high level of contact. Judo includes a lot of floor work with grappling. Also, it is very structured, doesn't change and provides confidence and independence, Nichols said.

While the kids continued to work on the mat with their instructors, some noticed some pros grappling, or wrestling, off to the side. One of them, George Stern, is also blind.

"It gets their minds to 'I can do that,'" Nichols said of the blind fighters.

Stern said he started practicing martial arts when he was a boy with his father, but could only go so far in karate because of his vision and hearing problems. However, jiu jitsu turned out to be a good fit for him almost two years ago, and he has competed in North American Grappling Association competitions, placing fourth once.

"If you're disciplined enough, you can pull it off," he said. "Visual impairment doesn't have anything to do with it."

Stern and other student instructors led the children through their exercises, and the children's confidence peaked with each try at the mat. Soon, they were doing o soto gari, a judo move where they wrap their leg around an opponent's ankles to trip them. With each adult hitting the ground, the crowd cheered for the little ones.

"[Blindness] is out of your reach, it's out of your power," LiBorio said. "This for me is a big relief, for my hopes for Bella's future."